A stent is any device, which is inserted into a blood vessel or other internal duct in the body to create a passage between two hollow spaces or to expand the vessel or duct to prevent or alleviate a blockage. These devices find regular use in medicine to expand coronary, vascular, biliary, prostatic, and ureteral passageways. Traditionally, such devices are fabricated from a metal mesh and remain in the body permanently or until removed through further surgical intervention. A biodegradable and bioresorbable (bioabsorbable) stent serves the same purpose, but is manufactured from a material that dissolves and is absorbed or eliminated from the body.
Commonly employed biocompatible and biodegradable materials, such as poly(glycerol sebacate) (PGS) and poly(propylene fumarate) (PPF), are polymers used in the medical field that resorb within the body with no toxicity. Disadvantageously, these polymers are inert to medical imaging technics and cannot be viewed in a rapid and convenient fashion in vivo. Typically, a contrasting medium or agent is used to enhance the contrast of structures or fluids within the body during medical imaging. A contrasting medium or agent, however, suffer in that they only provide temporary visualization as the agent may be quickly metabolized or eliminated from the body.